Abstract:
Catholic Church historians and the Papacy had claimed to have vehemently condemned slave trade
at every instance. Catholic historians and scholars like Luigi Conti and Panzer have done their best
to grant an intellectual absolution to the seat of the Pope by carefully whitewashing the ugly part
of their history and eulogizing the Catholic Church for being at the forefront of the abolitionist
movement. I contend that a thorough analysis of Papal bull, treaties and the classic works of
scholars like John Francis Maxwell 1975, Howard Erskine-Hill 1998 and Pius Onyemechi Adiele
2017 and other published works would bring to bear the involvement of the Pope in the process of
the enslavement of the ‘Negro’. I will advance this debate to show the authority of the pope in
medieval European politics by examining archival sources on the alliances, diplomatic relations
and international treaties ratified with such European countries concerning the slave trade. I will
extend this debate further to show that not only did the church blessed and supported the trade, but
the Church directly purchased African slaves in Rome. This work also takes a closer look at the
extent of the papacy’s direct and indirect involvement in the Negro slave trade. An analysis of the
financial system and fiscal policy of the Catholic Church in medieval times and assessment of
largest Slave Corporation in Maryland by the Jesuit Order based on archival materials from
Georgetown University Slave Archive show that not only was the leadership of the Church
involved in the trade but also benefitted from the trade.
